Managing your life after a traumatic accident can be challenging, especially when it results in the loss of a job. In California, the law allows you to sue for a lost job. Accident victims who have lost their jobs can claim damages in the form of lost income and lost earning potential.
Car Accidents Resulting in Job Loss
Whether you’re working a physically demanding job or a stationary job on a computer, a car accident can result in injuries that make that job too difficult to perform. Let’s say you’re a construction worker and you suffer a major knee injury in a car accident on the way to work. Your knee is no longer the same and your employer is forced to let you go as you’re no longer able to work construction.
Now, you’re out of a job, in need of medical treatment, and you’re unable to work any physically demanding jobs. With a personal injury attorney, you can recover your lost wages, medical bills, and earnings you would have made had you not been in an accident, as well as damage done to your vehicle.
Lost wages are considered your regular income before the incident. Loss of earning capacity would be based on your age, skill level, occupation, and the labor market estimate of what you would have earned had your accident never occurred.
Proving Your Injury Claim after a Car Accident in California
Other drivers on the road owe a “duty of care” to the other drivers around them. Duty of care isn’t just a suggestion for those driving throughout California, it is a law they must follow. According to Civil Code 1714, people are responsible for their actions and preventing their property from harming others. The statute states:
“Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself. The design, distribution, or marketing of firearms and ammunition is not exempt from the duty to use ordinary care and skill that is required by this section. The extent of liability in these cases is defined by the Title on Compensatory Relief.”
To establish the actions of a careless driver caused your accident, you would need to prove the following:
- Duty of care: the other driver has a legal obligation to drive with caution and prevent any hazardous incidents that could injure someone
- Breach: the other driver failed to uphold their duty of care toward other drivers
- Cause: the other driver’s carelessness was a direct cause of the accident
- Damages: You suffered verifiable damages and incurred heavy losses due to the injuries sustained from the accident
Oftentimes, these things can be proven through police reports, witness statements, dashcams, or traffic cameras. If this type of evidence cannot be produced, then a personal injury attorney can exercise legal procedures against the liable party such as interrogatories and depositions to support your claim.
What is Maximum Medical Improvement
After suffering severe injuries in a car accident, your treating physicians will try to get you back as much of your bodily function as possible. In the course of treatment, if your physician sees that you’re not getting any better, while you’re not getting worse, they may find that you’ve reached the point of Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI).
Once you’ve reached MMI, your ability will determine if you can return to work on a restrictive basis or if you’re ready to completely return to your regular duties. Also, your employer will consider your physical restrictions before deciding to offer you “modified work.” Modified work means you will only be required to do a portion of your usual duties. If modified work is unavailable for your specific job, then your employer may choose to offer you “alternative work.”
This equates to a different type of work with the same rate of pay and employment location.
Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured due to a careless driver, the attorneys at Maison Law can get you the compensation you need. No upfront money is required and we don’t get paid unless we win your case. Our team of experienced accident lawyers are standing by to answer all of your questions and support you through the legal process every step of the way.
Contact Maison Law today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
